Type 2: V + NG + to-infinitive clause with subject – He wants us to go

The ‘want’ verbs include: want, like, love, prefer, can’t bear, dislike, hate, wish, arrange.

The people want the troops to leave.

He did not like her to leave his side for more than a day.                                       [EFX]

I only want us to be together, always.                                                                     [GWH]

I have arranged for the students to go to London tomorrow.

The ‘want’ type verbs take a to-infinitive clause that has an explicit subject. Semantically, what the people want, what ‘he’did not like are situations, not persons or things. For this reason, the non-finite clause, together with its subject, is analyzed as a single unit which can be considered an untypical direct object. This can be tested by (a) replacement by a pronoun (He did not like that), (b) coordination (and she herself did not like it either), and (c) clefting: the non-finite clause and its subject can become the focus of a wh-cleft (What he did not like was for her to leave his side for more than a day).

Furthermore, although these subjects of to-infinitive clauses are in the objective case (us, her) they can’t be analyzed as objects of the main verb. The complete clause does not entail The people want the troops or He did not like her. Nor can they become subject in a passive clause: *The troops were wanted to go, *She was not liked to leave his side for more than a day. In this respect, verbs like want contrast with those of Type 3 such as ask, advise and expect, in which the NG does represent a separate clause element.

Note the use of for as a subordinator, introducing the non-finite clause with its subject (for the students to go to London tomorrow) after the main verb arrange. In AmE this use of for is extended to other verbs such as want and prefer.

Finally, we can test want-type verbs with a What question: What do you want? rather than a Who question: Who do you want? The object of my wanting is (for) us to be together, always.

اخر الاخبار

اخبار العتبة العباسية المقدسة

قسم التطوير يقدم دورة عن أخلاقيات المهنة ضمن برنامج تأهيل المنتسبين الجدد

ضمن برنامج (وفاءً للدماء).. المجمع العلمي يقيم محفلًا قرآنيًّا في محافظة المثنى

قسم الشؤون الفكرية يرفد المكتبة المركزية في ديالى بإصدارات معرفية

قسم التطوير يبحث مع ديوان الوقف الشيعي آفاق التعاون في مجال التدريب والتطوير المؤسسي

المزيد

الآخبار الصحية

خبير يكشف 5 حقائق طبية صادمة وغير معروفة

ليس الأسود ولا الحيتان.. "كائن صغير" هو أخطر قاتل للبشر!

بارقة أمل لمرضى "الإيدز".. علاج خلوي ينجح في كبح الفيروس

ظاهرة مقلقة تتوسع.. "المستنشقات" خطر صامت يهدد المراهقين

المزيد

الآخبار التكنلوجية

اكتشاف مادة في الثوم تحسن قوة العضلات وتبطئ شيخوختها

تطور الحياة على الأرض المبكرة اعتمد على معدن نادر

باحثون صينيون يطوّرون بطارية مائية قد تعمل 300 عام

الذكاء الاصطناعي..هل يصبح متهما جنائيا في الجرائم والانتحار؟

المزيد

مواضيع ذات صلة

Type 5 b: V + NG + -ing – We deplore his/him risking his life in this way

Type 5a: V + -ing clause – I like listening to music

MEANINGS EXPRESSED BY - ING CLAUSES

MEANINGS EXPRESSED BY BARE INFINITIVE CLAUSES

MEANINGS EXPRESSED BY TO-INFINITIVE CLAUSES

COMPLEMENTATION BY NON-FINITE CLAUSES CATENATIVE COMPLEMENTS A

COMPLEMENTATION BY FINITE CLAUSES SUMMARY

Non-finite variants

Nominal relatives

Indirect interrogatives

MEANINGS AND PATTERNS OF WH-CLAUSE COMPLEMENTS

Verb + NG + that-clause